Swaledale Woolens: The Yorkshire enterprise celebrating 20 years of knitting together the community

Local farming couple Gillian and Ken Whitehead from the nearby hamlet of Thwaite have owned Swaledale Woolens, next door to the Farmers Arms pub, for the past ten years and Gillian has worked in the business for twenty years.

Gillian says Sunday is set to be a special day for all of those who have been connected to Swaledale Woolens since it brought back a time when Muker had been known not just for its Swaledale sheep and farming but also lead mining, and knitting.

“It all started when David Morris, a retired bank manager from London, and his wife Griselle came up here to buy a house and retire in 1974,” says Gillian. “Griselle was a really good knitter and as she was knitting garments she would put them on the wall top in front of the house and walkers who came past would buy them.

“Word spread about Griselle’s knitted wear. We have always had lots of walkers and people who just love coming to Muker and pretty soon Griselle had found that she couldn’t keep up with the amount of requests she was getting, everything from cardigans, sweaters, jumpers, socks, gloves and scarves, and all from Swaledale wool from Swaledale sheep. It was the ultimate in local produce, everything reared here, the garments made here.

“That’s when the ladies of Muker got together with Griselle and started knitting for Swaledale Woolens. David and Griselle then converted their house into a shop downstairs and they lived upstairs, the way it still is today. They had realised there was a business that harped back to the days of the cottage industries that existed in the countryside over a century ago.

“At first it was just Swaledale wool that they used, but they then used Herdwick wool which was found to be a bit coarse and very heavy, and so they moved on to Wensleydale wool, which is a lovely soft wool. The two breeds of Swaledale and Wensleydale still provide the wool used by our knitters today.

Gillian says that the shop grew to include both hand knitted and machine knit garments.

“It’s still the hand knits that are our best sellers. We get everyone from Coast to Coast walkers to visitors from America and all around the world and everyone likes to take home something handmade. Our machine knit garments are also produced in Yorkshire, in Keighley, but many just like the fact that they are buying Swaledale clothing from Swaledale wool from Swaledale sheep in Swaledale.

“Swaledale wool is very hard wearing and is really good for outdoor walking garments. Wensleydale wool appeals more for ladies’ sweaters and prettier colours. It’s a softer wool and for such as a scarf, when it’s next to your neck, it’s more comfortable.

“We have other sheep products too, sheepskin rugs, gloves and slippers produced locally from Glencroft Clothing in Clapham. The shop has always been about sheep products and we try to keep as local as possible including flat caps handmade from Laurence & Foster in Keighley.

Gillian and husband Ken took over Swaledale Woolens from the previous owners, another farming couple Kathleen and Kenneth Hird of Low Row.

“We are the third owners in its fifty years,” says Gillian. “Kathleen used to work with Griselle before she and Ken bought it from the Morris’ in 2002. I started working for Kathleen in the shop in 2004 and we bought it when Kathleen retired in 2014.

“Unfortunately, a lot of ladies who knitted for Swaledale Woolens in the village have now got too old or have passed away. We currently have just one lady in Muker who knits for us now. Kathleen had to look for knitters further around the dale some years ago and they are now spread around Wensleydale and Swaledale.

“I can knit. My grandmother and mother did teach me, but I just knit for myself and for my grandchildren.

Swaledale Woolens’ only Muker knitter is Mary Guy, a farmer’s daughter from Angram, who ran the village post office from 1977 to 2001 and recalls how David Morris sought to tap the American market.

“Mr Morris went over to America to a place called Swaledale (in Iowa) looking for ancestors that had come from Swaledale. He started advertising Swaledale Woolens over there and he would send out by post from Muker post office.

“I’ve only been knitting for Swaledale Woolens for a few years, even though I’ve knitted all my life, as I was busy previously. When they were asking for knitters and being retired I was looking for something to do and I really enjoy it. My parents had Swaledale sheep.

“Mary is a very good knitter,” says Gillian. “All our knitters are great and they are all coming tomorrow when Muker Silver Band conducted by Mary’s husband Norman will be playing outside the shop. Norman’s mother used to knit for Swaledale Woolens.

“We will have family members of all three owners here who will cut a ribbon to mark the occasion. Myself and my husband Ken, Kathleen will be here although sadly her husband Kenneth passed away, and we will have David and Griselle’s daughter Jane and son Robert, as neither of their parents are now with us. Robert is coming over from Canada especially for the day.

“We’re all going into the village hall to have a nice tea. I wanted to provide something for all our knitters, plus something for all the village, there will be over 100.

There is just a possibility that tomorrow’s celebration could be the end of an era too. Gillian and Ken are looking to take things a little easier and are planning on selling. Tomorrow could be an ideal time for any prospective new owner to meet everyone and see the strength of feeling there is for this enterprise that has become an important part of the village.

“I’ve been in the shop twenty years,” says Gillian. “it’s just me and two other local ladies that work here. It’s a lovely little business, still popular, still does well, and we are hoping someone will come along and continue to run it as Swaledale Woolens.

“Muker does tend to attract people to live here who buy either for retirement or second homes. That’s been the biggest change in the last fifty years, but David and Griselle Morris came here to retire and look at what they brought about. We are all looking forward to celebrating what they started.